Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman are in Orioles' plans for late 2013

ORIOLES NOTES

Showalter says right-handers will have a throwing schedule that keeps them available for September and October

February 12, 2013|By Eduardo A. Encina | The Baltimore Sun

SARASOTA, Fla. — Orioles manager Buck Showalter made it clear Tuesday that top pitching prospects Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman are part of the club’s major league plans by late 2013.

Meeting with the media on the day pitchers and catchers reported to camp, Showalter said both Bundy and Gausman will make starts with the big league team in spring training. Both are likely earmarked to begin the season at Double-A Bowie, but the Orioles intend to get a long look at their past two first-round picks this spring.

“Dylan Bundy and Gausman will be available to pitch to us to pitch in September and October,” Showalter said. “How we get there, we’ll see. I know that on the front end of it, we’re going to get ahead of it.”

Showalter ensured that neither would face being shut down before the end of the season.

“One of the topics of [Tuesday’s staff meeting] here was ‘OK, what’s the inning count on Bundy,’” Showalter said. “We know exactly what we’re looking at, give or take a couple innings. Same way with Gausman. We know what they did last year and we’ll do the same thing this year, where both those guys are available to us to pitch into October.”

In his first pro season, Bundy pitched 103 2/3 innings at three minor league levels before earning a September call-up to the Orioles. Gausman, who was the No. 4 overall pick last year, debuted after his final college season at LSU (he threw 123 2/3 college innings) with six pro starts at three levels, each of them lasting three innings.

“Some people were making light of the way we were doing Bundy,” Showalter said. “We did it from the first day of spring training. He pitched on six days rest instead of five. He pitched two and three innings at a time instead of four, five, six or seven so that, one, we could monitor his innings. We thought it was very important for him — like we will do with Gausman — to pitch the entire year.

“That’s part of maturing and developing, is understanding the difference between a season at some Oklahoma high school or LSU and a minor league season where you’re playing 144 games. That’s part of it. They’ve got to get used to that.”

No news on Jurrjens

Nearly three weeks after the Orioles agreed to terms with right-hander Jair Jurrjens, the club still has yet to announce the signing and Jurrjens was not among the 28 pitchers listed on the team’s spring training roster.

“We’re still working on that issue,” executive vice president Dan Duquette said. “We don’t have that resolved yet. We hope to get it resolved in the next couple of days. This is an issue that just takes a little bit more time on the process, but hopefully it will get resolved.”

Jurrjens’ physical with the Orioles has been methodical to say the least. The team has been concerned about the strength of Jurrjens’ right knee. He went 3-4 with a 6.89 ERA last season and has struggled since he was named to the National League All-Star team in 2011.

Around the horn

Outfielder Trayvon Robinson, who was designated for assignment last week to make room for right-hander Todd Redmond, was listed on the team’s 60-man spring training roster, but he won’t clear waivers until Thursday. … Non-roster catcher Jose Gil was absent for report day because of visa issues. Last season, non-roster catcher Ronny Paulino missed three weeks of camp with visa issues. … Second baseman Brian Roberts, limited to just 17 games last season because of injuries, has been working out and doing baseball activities the Ed Smith complex and is a full go. … Right-handed reliever Luis Ayala is still expected to pitch for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic. Right-handed reliever Pedro Strop is also still slated to pitch for the Dominican Republic in the WBC. … The report date for position players is Friday, but several of them had already reported Tuesday. They include center fielder Adam Jones, shortstop J.J. Hardy, outfielder Nolan Reimold, second baseman Alexi Casilla, third baseman Manny Machado, outfielder Lew Ford, first baseman Russ Canzler, first baseman Conor Jackson, right fielder Nick Markakis, outfielder Nate McLouth, outfielder Steve Pearce and outfielder Jason Pridie. ... The Orioles have intrasquad games planned for Feb. 20 (10:30 a.m.) and Feb. 21 (1:05 p.m.) leading up to their Grapefruit League opener Feb. 23 against the Minnesota Twins at Ed Smith Stadium.